The Book: What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman
The Story: In the 70’s, two sisters disappeared from the local shopping mall. They were 11 and 15. There were a few clues, but nothing substantial. Eventually, it was kind of written off.
Now, a woman is involved in a rush hour traffic accident just a few miles from the mall where the girls disappeared from. She claims to be Heather Bethany, the younger sister. She seems a little “off” and while her story has a lot of off-the-record details, there are just as many inconsistencies. Through the story, a newer detective, the old, retired detective that first worked the case, a lawyer and a social worker work together to try to get all the details straight.
Leads are followed and lead to a man suffering from dementia, several “false identities,” a house burnt down with a man inside, and a missing grave. All of this leads into some twisty stories and when it straightens out and the answer is revealed it is seriously shocking!
What I Thought: This is one of the books that I got cheap when Border’s went out of business. If I had paid full price for this book, I think I would have been kind of mad, but for a 40% off book, I guess I got what I paid for.
Not that this book was awful. It really wasn’t, and I steamed through it in just a little over a day. The mystery really did keep me guessing and the story itself was good.
What really bothered me was the characters. They were just flat. And predictable. And stereotypes. And choppy writing. And empty dialogue. I can’t really put my finger on what was “off,” but there was just something that didn’t sit right with me. I don’t read a lot of books that are out-and-out mysteries, so maybe it just isn’t my genre.
I did enjoy the parts that kind of went into what Sunshine and Heather’s parents and community went through in the wake of their disappearances. I liked the “flashbacks” that involved them and the detective that stayed on the case for 20-ish years. These relationships and reactions were the parts of the books that spoke to me. If I could have just taken that and left the detective-novel stuff, I would have for sure.
Conclusion: Not horrible. Probably a good beach read or a book to read on a rainy day in. Not worth 15 bucks, but if you get it as a gift or from the library, I’d say give it a shot.